There was an interesting post by Jemima Harrison over at Pedigree Dogs Exposed last Friday questioning her appearance at HSUS's upcoming conference on purebred dogs. Apparently, she's just now figuring out HSUS is an animal rights organization, fostering many positions that are in reality, more harmful than helpful to canine welfare. Or maybe she's just mad Wayne Pacelle isn't giving her enough public recognition for her work and appearance? Either way, it's hard to take her hand-wringing very seriously.
After all, much like Harrison, HSUS claims to be on the side of animal "welfare," yet seems utterly incapable of making its case without relying upon sensationalistic, emotionally manipulative, one-sided presentations of the facts. Well-intentioned or not, it's obvious that both Harrison and HSUS have some serious hangups...
lablemminglounge.blogspot.com's "The Pseudoscientific Method"
And regardless of how much they doth protest, their actions are harmful to responsible animal owners (the very people who treat animals in a way they claim to celebrate!), foster an environment where serious debate is nearly impossible, and dump bucket after bucket of delicious chum in the water for those hungrily circling animal rights extremists.
So we're really not seeing what the problem is here. In theory, they should be getting on like two peas in a pod. So maybe it's just a case of hurt feelings and misunderstandings. C'mon, guys, maybe a little hug-o-war is in order?
Ah, all better!
After Friday's drama, it looks like she's going to attend after all. Not much of a surprise, really. We will honestly be quite interested in hearing her perception of the event. Contrary to what the snarky tone here might imply, we don't dislike Harrison or think she has nothing of value to add to the discussion of canine health; our issue is primarily with her method of presentation -- possibly well intentioned, but definitely harmful -- rather than the issues she brings up.
Meanwhile, we'll continue gearing up for our own conference* this November. A conference serving as a call to celebrate and preserve purebred dogs rather than apologize for them; one in which all sides of the issues are presented by experts, and a path toward improved canine health and happiness can be forged. Hope you can make it!
* November 12-13, in Harrisburg Pennsylvania. You can sign up here if you'd like to save on earlybird registration!
Are there plans in the works to present the NAIA conference/seminar info on DVD or in print?
Posted by: Geneva Coats | 04/25/2011 at 02:25 PM
Yes there are, Geneva.
We're currently working on a huge revamp of our website; past conference/seminar/workshop materials will be available in their own section. We may produce a DVD as well.
Posted by: National Animal Interest Alliance | 04/25/2011 at 02:36 PM
Excellent blog post! I'm going to be referring people to this one!
Posted by: Sharyn Hutchens | 04/25/2011 at 07:39 PM
It's a little hard to take Ms. Harrison's latest drama seriously since she proclaimed her slanted documentary was not meant to support AR agendas when it first came out. For those of us who are in groups in which she participates, she knows full well who HSUS is and what their goals and practices are.
Posted by: Jana Carraway | 05/31/2011 at 09:05 AM